Down But Not Dead
by Kenobi1
Summary: Obi-Wan and Anakin run into trouble as usual, ending with an injured master and a desprate duel. Ventress isn’t a forgiving opponent, and healing is often the most painful process. Obi-Wan and Anakin one-shot.
1. Chapter 1 (12-29 21:28:16)

"Anakin! I need you over here! Cody, his men, and I are retreating! If you don't soon, we will lose this!" Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi general in the infamous Clone Wars, yelled urgently into the communication device on his wrist, reflecting a couple red flickers of light while doing so.

"We're on our way," the voice of his former padawan echoed from Obi-Wan's wrist.

"Cody!" he called into the mess.

"What is it, sir?"

The jedi backed up to his comrade, "Anakin and the 501st are on their way. We have to hold them off a little longer. Split your troops into four groups. Have one behind me, and put any clones that know how to use a shield at the front of the other three groups. This should at least give us a little cover."

Yes, sir!" Cody responded. Just as he did, a droid's fire came hissing towards the commander. Obi-Wan caught it with his lightsaber, the blaster bolt dissipating on contact. "Thanks, General!" Cody's voice sounded relieved. General Kenobi winked at him playfully.

The clone commander ordered instructions through his helmet. While he was busy with that, Obi-Wan checked on Anakin again. "How's it going?"

"We're approaching your position."

"Good," Obi-Wan responded a little harsher than he should have, but Anakin knew Obi-Wan was in a tough situation. The clones around General Kenobi began to form the shape of the four groups. Once the clones were blocked behind him, the Jedi had to focus his full defense on the battle droids opposing them. Because of the concentration of fire increasing, Obi-Wan had to work harder to keep himself and everyone around him alive.

"Sir, incoming!" A clone's voice warned from the com. The jedi glanced up only to see a swarm of Separatist bombers fly over-head. There was no cover to hide in on the barren planet.

"Oh, not good," he muttered. He wanted to contact Anakin, but he now needed two hands on his lightsaber to deflect the oncoming fire. The ships dropped a dozen bombs onto his unprotected troops. "Shoot the bombs!" Kenobi commanded frantically. Blue streaks of light began to pelt after the plummeting projectiles, while red continued to attack him and the clones. A stray bomb avoided the blaster bolts, becoming a more desperate, deadly threat.

Obi-Wan reached towards the bomb, fingers outstretched. With a conformation from the Force, his fingers snapped closed, and the bomb exploded, showering dust and ashes over the clones.

"Ugh!" he grunted. "Blast!" One of the droids took the opportunity of his distraction and shot him in the shoulder.

They wouldn't be able to hold their position with both the bombs and the droids. "Fall back!" The general ordered. His voice hinted at the pain building up inside. Ignoring this, he began to retreat with the clones.

A lithe figure stalked the man's form from nonexistent shadows, dancing from the eyesight of both the clones and the Jedi.

It was then when Anakin finally caught up with his master's clones. The added forces pushed the Separatist droids back. The GAR regrouped in the lull of the battle. As the jedi knight came closer, Obi-Wan smirked jokingly, "Took you long enough."

"You don't look to good," Anakin replied, not returning the humor.

Obi-Wan glanced down at the blood seeping from his wound. "I'll be fine."

The clones behind the pair of Jedi began to firearm an incoming enemy, and Anakin yelled a warning. Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and engaged the dark jedi that had thrown herself at him. Any hesitation and he would have lost his head. "Ventress, this is a surprise," Obi-Wan commented lightly.

She responded by shoving him backwards with a little help from the Force. Obi-Wan landed harshly, and the weight from his fall gathered at his shoulder. It screamed at him like the wind howling on a moonless night, forcing a gasp to tear its way out of the general's throat.

Anakin covered for him. The jedi master watched as his friend's blade clashed with Ventress's in a flurry of sparks. Biting his lip, Obi-Wan tested his balance after leaning off of a dusty rock. The familiar hum of a lightsaber played on the chaos of the moment as he ignited his blade, and a flash of blue light joined in the fight. General Kenobi landed next to Anakin almost gracefully, but the pain from his wound was getting worse.

"Glad you could join us, Master," Anakin teased playfully.

"You try fighting her with a hole in your shoulder," General Kenobi argued, emphasizing the word 'her' with a jabbing lightsaber.

Asajj caught their lightsabers on hers, and sparks dripped from the connection. Abruptly, one of the red sabers pulled away and began to swing towards Anakin's legs. Obi-Wan immediately broke his hold on the lock to par the Sith's slashing lightsaber. His former padawan, now outmatched in the lock, was shoved backwards by Ventress. Until the other Jedi recovered, Obi-Wan was on his own to fend her off.

"Anakin!" he called, worry seeping into his tone, unable to look to see if his friend was fine. "Anakin?" he repeated after a few seconds of humming lightsabers and deflected attacks.

"M'okay," came a distant answer. The Jedi master began to circle Ventress, who was clearly annoyed with patience. He was surprised that she hadn't pounced yet. Asajj twirled her lightsaber almost as if it were a twitch.

In a blur of motion, she feigned left and swung at Kenobi's right hip. He caught the lightsaber with his own, but not before hers grazed his tunic. A wave of fresh pain dulled his senses, and the Jedi Master tried desperately to focus.

A fiery red light flew into his line of sight. With a swift upward stroke, Obi-Wan knocked the Sith's lightsaber off course. But it came back too fast, and he struggled to fight off his doom.

"Give up, Kenobi. You can't even fend me off with your precious 'padawan'," Asajj sneered.

"Hey, at least I have someone who'll care if I die." Obi-Wan could tell he hit a nerve. This fueled the fury churning in her eyes.

 _Great, Kenobi._

She attacked him with renewed energy. The whirling speed at which she slashed was difficult to match. A red burn sliced into his arm and severed the muscle. The Jedi cried out, clutching at the frayed arm as pain blossomed like a sickly flower. His shoulder flared up as he tried and failed to move it. The pain was so excruciating that he couldn't defend himself.

But Ventress liked to play with her prey.

General Kenobi felt his back crack against a nearby cliff with a resounding smack as Ventress threw him across the sandy terrain. The air that was trapped in his lungs tore itself out, leaving him winded. Beneath him, his legs kicked weakly as he was dragged off of the ground. From his blurring view, Obi-Wan could see Anakin attempting to shove a rock off that kept him pinned. Once the knight saw his master's face, he summoned a new-found strength and rolled the boulder off of his legs.

Obi-Wan fought for consciousness as waves of pain rolled over him, but he was losing the fight and his air supply.

Anakin's eyes squinted with a fierce and hidden love that emerged from deep in his heart. _No one hurts my Master and gets away with it._

Asajj Ventress was distracted with Obi-Wan, and Anakin needed to get her attention away from his injured master. "Hey, Baldie! Don't you know that it is not nice to attack an old man?"

He launched into action after watching the other Jedi drop limply to the ground and moan. The haze of his blue lightsaber mixed with red. As he caught Ventress in the leg, she taunted, "Well here is an actual challenge!"

"You have to give Obi-Wan some slack. I mean, how often do you have to fight a manic while supporting a hole in your shoulder?" Anakin retaliated.

Swirling lightsabers collided in feral beauty. He drove Ventress back and away from his master. Anakin knocked the Sith to the sand with a swift round-house kick. A wicked sneer spread across her face as the Jedi Knight pointed his lightsaber at her throat. "Now I know what they see in you," the Sith murmured before she kicked him in the stomach and scrambled away. Anakin turned from the retreating woman.

"Master?"

 _ **Disclaimer: I wish I owned these characters, but I don't.**_

 _ **Here's a quick Star Wars One-shot. It shouldn't have more than about two chapters, but I enjoyed writing about Obi-Wan and Anakin! I will update next Friday at the latest, and thanks for reading! Feel free to follow/favorite or give me advise and review! I hope you enjoyed!**_

 _ **~Kenobi1**_


	2. Chapter 2

A soft squelch informed Obi-Wan that his shoulder was still bleeding. His right arm was now completely limp because of the severed muscle. The arm was splayed out next to him, festering with disapproval.

Other than a few sarcastic comments, Kenobi's mind was empty. Pain had overridden his ability to control himself, so he laid on the sandy ground helplessly, catching a few bits of the lightsaber duel. His eyes fluttered closed, attempting and failing, to breathe through the pain.

"Master?"

A call, gentle but anxious, drifted to the front of his hazy mind. "Anakin?" Obi-Wan's rasp was barely audible, but the new presence of his padawan helped him focus.

"Rex! I need a medic!" Anakin yelled anxiously over his shoulder.

"Anakin... It's okay. I'm not dying. I'm just... tired. But I'm afraid that my arm is... going to need to be checked out." Obi-Wan was forced to pause in between words to draw rattling breathes.

"You don't sound okay, Master," the knight retorted.

"Trust me, Anakin. As a Jedi... I'm used to being shot... stabbed, and otherwise tortured. And I'm still here, aren't I?" General Kenobi assured him. A half-dozen clones jogged over and joined the pair.

One of the clones began to shine a light into his eyes. After a moment, he asked, "How many fingers am I holding up, General?"

Obi-Wan laughed at the question. "Four." The clone nodded and shifted over to his shoulder.

The jedi cringed as the clone gingerly applied a bacta patch to his shoulder. It began to soak up the blood emanating from the wound. The patch, however, didn't suck in the crimson streak that spread across his robes. Looking up from his dirty tunic, Obi-Wan joked to Anakin, "Great. I don't know if I will ever be able to get the stain out of them."

Anakin grinned, glad that the jedi was regaining his breath a little. It dropped when the medic announced that Obi-Wan would need to be transferred to a medical station if they wanted to save the nerves in Kenobi's right arm. "And we won't be able to make it into Republic space in time," the medic concluded.

 _Force, no!_ Anakin's mind screamed.

"Is there any way that we could slow the process down? There's got to be some medical equipment for that," the Jedi Knight rambled desperately. "We could slow it down enough to get Obi-Wan to a Republic med-center. Why are we still standing here? Let's move!"

"Anakin, it's okay," General Kenobi smiled reassuringly. The medic didn't look hopeful. "Plus, this battle still needs a general. You can't just abandon them."

His former padawan didn't back down. "We should at least try! Even if I can't go. If we don't go, then you don't ever have a chance of recovery." The medic was doubtful, but after one look at Anakin, he seemed to decide that Skywalker was right. He motioned for the other clones to follow him.

While the clones were away, the Jedi Knight told Obi-Wan, "I will inform Master Yoda of our situation." After a few heartbeats of uncomfortable silence, the clones came back with a stretcher and carefully slid the wounded Jedi General onto it. With a few stifled groans from the Jedi, they were on their way to one of the gunners. Skywalker followed them like a lost droid and smiled slightly as his master craned his neck to see him through the attending clones. "May the Force be with you, Master."

"And you, Anakin," the injured man answered. With a tiny nod in goodbye, the doors of the gunner closed, and his former master was taken out of view.

Inside the gunner, the medic approached Obi-Wan with a needle. "I am going to induce you to a medical sleep. It is all that I can think of to slow down the nerves."

"Whatever you need to do," Kenobi responded calmly .

The clone looked at the Jedi Master. He looked sunken, almost shriveled. The medic frowned, remembering just how resilient the man was. Most patients he had were already unresponsive. But General Kenobi was still fighting for consciousness. The Jedi was almost cheerful. Clearing his thoughts, the clone medic injected the syringe in the jedi's right shoulder above the frayed muscle. Kenobi soon welcomed the pain-relieving sleep.

Anakin paced restlessly in front of the holoprojector, worried about his master's health. He took a deep breath and calmed his emotions. Not a heartbeat later, a buzz from the holoprojector signified that Yoda was ready.

"Master Yoda," Anakin greeted, bowing.

"Good to see you, it is. Hmm," Yoda's voice echoed.

"We were driven back by the droids. When we were regrouping, Ventress decided to show up. Obi-Wan was injured, so the clone medic is taking him to a Republic medical station. But Ventress cut through a muscle in Obi-Wan's arm. If he doesn't get treatment soon enough, they'll have to amputate his arm," the knight told Yoda.

"Disturbing, this is," Master Yoda replied. "Know why Ventress was here, do you?"

"No, Master Yoda."

"Speak with the council, I must. May the Force be with you and Obi-Wan." The signal died, plunging the room into darkness, leaving Anakin to strategize about the upcoming attack on the Separatists. He left the room to go talk to Rex.

A soft bubble occasionally interrupted the silence. Obi-Wan felt one pass by his mouth. It was the bubble that broke his ignorance over the situation. The general felt liquid pulsing with his heart from all sides and a rebreather positioned over his lips. _Bacta tank._ He located the walls before pushing himself to the surface of the tank. A moment later, a nurse in white scrubs entered and began to unhook the Jedi from all of the equipment.

"It's good to see you awake," the nurse commented. She led him through a sterile hallway and into one of the blindingly white recovery rooms. Obi-Wan sat on the bed by the window that overlooked a tropical planet. After the nurse insisted that he slept, he straightened his limbs on the covers of the bed although his right arm refused to move. The general watched the life outside the window. No sleep came as he waited for a doctor to come inspect him. He was met by one standing in the doorway.

"I am Dr. Tu-Shwana, and I can see you have been having quite the troubles lately," the humanoid introduced with a thick Corellian accent.

"Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, as I assume you know," the injured man greeted.

Dr. Tu-Shwana didn't waste any more time and sat down next to his left arm. The creature rolled up Obi-Wan's sleeve to reveal stitches pulling the sides of the wound together. With a sympathetic look, the doctor said, "I'm afraid this will leave a scar."

The comment made Obi-Wan chuckle. "That's okay. It will blend in with the rest just fine."

Dr. Tu-Shwana frowned slightly at the dark humor. He then rested the arm back on the medical bed and moved to look at the other. Twisting the sleeve up his arm, the doctor exposed a very swollen and unhappy muscle stitched closed skillfully. "I-I don't- can you move your right arm for me?" Dr. Tu-Shwana almost looked sad. The doctor's reaction surprised the jedi. People with this profession are typically used to people dying in surgery, but Obi-Wan guessed that Dr. Tu-Shwana had never worked with a Jedi before. Therefore, he wouldn't know just how resilient the Jedi were. _It takes a lot more than that to keep me down... I'm down, but I'm not dead._

Obi-Wan smiled reassuringly at the doctor before focusing on his arm. He did his best to lift it, but it only trembled feebly. Dr. Tu-Shwana looked at the Jedi's calm face, dread freezing in the humanoid's heart. "I'm sorry, Master Jedi. You won't be able to regain much movement."

"Oh, but Doctor, you don't know the Force like I do," Obi-Wan replied with a playful smile tugging at his lips. A small voice in his head opposed his light comment.

After all, Jedi are human, too.

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or the characters.**_

 _ **Here's chapter two! Obi-Wan is in for a ride. Thanks to nadla, Nightshade's sydneylover150, showlittlefaith, lilyflower1345, and backdrifting for following and to KZ, anakinstarwars44, and Nightshade's sydneylover150 for reviewing! It means a lot! Follow, favorite, or review if you wish, and I hope you enjoyed!**_

 _ **~Kenobi1**_


	3. Chapter 3

Obi-Wan attempted to relax his heaving breaths. His task, simple but daunting, lay before him in the form of a metal contraption. He had only begun the physical therapy to strengthen his immobile arm a few months before. Doctor Tu-Shwana stood behind him, assessing any progress the Jedi made.

The general weaved his limp limb into the machine once again and struggled to hold the weight of his own arm even before the metal shoved against it. But Kenobi had at least regained some movement. After a few seconds, the machine succeeded and pressed the Jedi's arm down. Frustration threatened to distract him, but he dipped himself into the Force and released all emotions. With fiery fatigue surging through what he could feel in his arm, Obi-Wan glanced up at the doctor. The humanoid looked thoroughly impressed.

"Anakin is here to see you again, Master Kenobi," Doctor Tu-Shwana informed. The exhausted Jedi smiled and left to go find his former padawan. The Jedi Knight had been visiting him constantly in between missions over the past few months of his recovery. The state his right arm was in wasn't the greatest, but it was better than many of the doctors had hoped. It was still near impossible to move his arm without the aid of the Force, but the general had undergone several surgeries to boost the strength and repair the servered nerves in his arm.

Down the hallway, Obi-Wan could see Skywalker rushing to see him again. Once they met in a one-armed hug, the Jedi Knight moved to inspect his arm. "How's the arm coming along?" Anakin asked playfully.

"I have more range of motion, but not much more strength than last time," Kenobi answered.

"At least there's progress," his friend commented.

"Touché," Obi-Wan hummed contentedly.

Yoda stepped outside into the warm Coruscant air. He was meeting Obi-Wan Kenobi after a year of the Jedi's recovery. The general had finally been released from the medical center. A transport ship glided gracefully towards the temple, and halting in front of the grandmaster. Something powerful broke through his thoughts, a powerful Force-presence. The injured Jedi stepped out of the transport, and Yoda located the signature. It belonged to Kenobi.

"Master Yoda, it is good to see you again," Obi-Wan smiled warmly. It had been a few months since he had last seen the wizened Jedi. The Coruscant sunlight glowed on his face as he walked over to Yoda.

Stepping forward, the grandmaster shook hands with Obi-Wan, who gladly presented his right hand. "I got Dr. Tu-Shwana's approval. He didn't think I would be able to move my arm. It was fun to prove him wrong," the Jedi general winked, emitting a little of his pent up humor.

Kenobi followed Yoda towards his home and paused to marvel at the architectural wonder. He had missed the temple, and he was relived to be returning. Yoda began to inform him on the changes that had occurred since he had last been there.

They entered the home of the Jedi, and one of the knights in the hallway greeted in delightful surprise, "Master Kenobi, you're back in action!"

"Thank you, Master Twisu," Obi-Wan bowed to the Togruta.

"We have much to catch up on," came her reply.

"Yes," the wizened Jedi agreed. "Meet us in the council meeting, will you this evening, Master Kenobi?"

"Yes, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan answered. The grandmaster gave a small _hmm_ and a smile before leaving Obi-Wan in the hallway to go find Master Windu. He gave a swift goodbye and began to make his way to his quarters, acknowledging several friends on the way. Including a group of overly-excited younglings.

"Master Kenobi! Master Kenobi! You're back!" a chorus of eager shouts called to him.

"Hello, younglings. It is good to see you," he responded.

"He said he was glad to see us!" a small, female youngling whispered giddily to her friend. It made Obi-Wan grin.

"I must be on my way, but I will come see you later," the general promised, and the younglings practically exploded with enthusiasm.

Just as he turned around to leave, a whirl of brown crashed into him almost knocking him off of his feet.

"Anakin! Wow, you're about to send me back to the medical center!" Obi-Wan grinned at the young Jedi knight.

"Sorry Master, but you're back at the temple! How's your arm doing?" Anakin returned the grin when the Jedi master laid his right hand on his shoulder. His padawan began to ramble on about everything that happened since his injury. As the time passed, the sun gave up its daily battle and drained into the clouds.

"I must go Anakin. The council needs me, but it is great to be back home," Obi-Wan gently interrupted.

The man deflated a little before responding with a nod of understanding.

General Kenobi made his way to the high council chambers. When he arrived, he quietly opened the doors and moved to take his seat next to Ki-Adi-Mundi. The other Jedi masters were discussing an upcoming battle and the reports that the Jedi knight there had made. This issue was quickly wrapped up. It was replaced by one from Kit Fisto.

While the other council members continued the conversation, the grandmaster thought back to the discussion he had with Mace Windu earlier day. Blinds were drawn over windows, blocking out the lights and sounds from the world outside, leaving the room peacefully calm.

 _"A story I have, Master Windu. Back from the medical center, Master Kenobi is. And found something strange, I did. Leave the transport did a powerful Force signature, I sensed. Different Kenobi's is. Stronger, brighter. A mystery this was to me," Yoda told his longtime friend._

 _Mace thought for a moment before replying. "Well, I certainly don't have an answer. Could it be from his strong dependence on the Force for so long? There is no way that Obi-Wan could have been able to recover from the injury without the Force. It is something that few Jedi can do. How strong is his signature now? Surely it isn't more powerful than yours."_

 _Yoda nodded slightly. "Not quite, but powerful, indeed it is."_

 _Mace's eyes widened in astonishment, "But it isn't possible to gain Midi-chlorians."_

 _Yoda hummed, "Understand this, I do not. Hide his new-found power from the Sith, we must. Endanger Master Kenobi, it would."_

 _"Agreed."_

"-tracked the pirates to the Nal Hutta system," Master Tiin finished.

"I will go," Kenobi offered.

"But you just got back from the medical center," Eeth Koth protested.

"Send another jedi, we will Master Kenobi. Wish for you to stay at the temple and train, I do. Been away from combat too long I believe you have. Train more you must." Yoda said.

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan nodded.

"I would like to see you in training later as well," Mace told the general, and began to carry on the conversation before anyone could think too deeply about his request.

Obi-Wan Kenobi's eyebrows twitched in curiosity, but he let it slide.

A light buzz was followed by a life size hologram erupting in the center of the room. It was a Jedi on a mission at the Suevio system, a relatively "normal" planet covered in forests and waterways. The Separatists were attacking the natives of the Republic planet, and so the GAR came to defend them. _It is a war, after all._ Obi-Wan thought.

"It is not going very smoothly here. With about 1,000 troops to begin with, we've done well, but the Separatists are fighting hard. I regret to report 250 clones taken by those cursed droids, either dead or wounded. We need more help here," the Jedi knight explained.

After the comment, Obi-Wan watched Yoda think about the best possible way to solve this. "Ask to send more troops, we will. May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you all as well," the man replied to the council, scanning the room. His eyes rested on Obi-Wan's before widening in astonishment. "Master Kenobi, you're back!"

"It seems so," the Jedi general chuckled. He knew he and Anakin were well known in the temple because of their efforts in the Clone Wars, but he was surprised by the number of people that noticed he was back at the temple.

The room darkened as the Jedi disconnected the signal. At this, the high council stood up as one. Obi-Wan trailed the other masters as they left the room. One of them followed him.

"Master Plo," Kenobi nodded politely.

"Master Kenobi," the Jedi master returned, "I was curious about something. Ever since you have returned from your recovery, I have felt a strong presence in the Force, centered around you. I've never seen anything like it."

The duo passed several rooms, all filled with different purposes. Obi-Wan's face mirrored the shock that Yoda had experienced when he first met with him. "I-I didn't know. Why- I mean, it's not like I'm the Chosen One," his eyebrows furrowed.

"I have no answer, Master Kenobi," Plo Koon's deep voice agreed.

"Well, maybe the Force will," Obi-Wan suggested. "Would you care to meditate with me?

"I would be glad to." The pair made their way over to the Room of a Thousand Fountains, a place in the temple where jedi came to meditate. It was a calm, relaxing room, overlooking the beautiful lights of Coruscant.

Plo Koon settled down next to Kenobi, and together, they sank into the Force.

The Force swirled around the pair, appeased.

 ** _Disclaimer: I sadly don't own these characters!_**

 ** _Here's the final chapter! I may expand on the plot that I set up, but if I do, that won't be for a very long time. Thanks to SpencerBrown, edelweissmaia, and Jedi Princess3 for favoriting/following! Thanks for reading as always, and I hope you enjoyed!_**

 ** _~Kenobi1_**


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